A Troublesome Dream
by KL005
Summary: Neji’s having THAT dream again…Shikamaru is there to comfort him. ShikaNeji...as if it wasn't obvious enough.


*Disclaimer: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Credit goes to Spader7 as well, for the picture which gave me inspiration. You can check out the picture here:

spader7-naruto. deviantart .com/art/Neji-s-worst-Nightmare-59421680

Read the story before looking at the picture…don't want to spoil anything, right? This story takes place sometime in the future when Neji is 19 and Shika is 18.

_Italics_ are thoughts.

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**A Troublesome Dream**

Shikamaru sighed and glanced at the bed-side clock.

'_1:00am…it started earlier than usual tonight.'_

He had been awakened from his peaceful dreams of deer-shaped clouds by a fist to the face, courtesy of the slumbering body next to him. Rubbing his cheek, he turned to his left, just in time to catch his boyfriend's elbow before it connected with his ribs. Neji had been unusually active in bed for the past few nights, and not in the good way either. Still, Shikamaru knew better than to wake Neji up when he was like that. He'd shaken Neji awake two nights ago when it first happened, and the hole in his wall was a painful reminder never to try that again. _'Might as well go get a drink…Neji probably won't wake up anytime soon…'_ The thought had barely finished forming when he was unceremoniously (and quite literally) kicked out of bed. Shaking his head, he left the room.

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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Neji sat up in bed, mouth still open from his exclamation, eyes moist with unshed tears.

'_It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. I'm worrying for nothing. Stupid!'_

"It was just a dream," he said firmly, as if to confirm that fact. The words, louder than necessary, sounded strange in the empty room. _'Wait a minute…empty room? Where's Shika?'_Turning to his boyfriend's side of the bed, his white eyes met only the red LED display of the clock that Shikamaru kept there. Currently, those numbers read 1:45am. _'Did I disturb his sleep? How long has he been out of bed?' _He tried to stand up, but found his legs entangled in the purple sheets. Pushing them off with a slght curse, Neji quickly wiped his eyes and headed out of the bedroom, in search of a certain genius.

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"Shika?"

Neji's voice sounded oddly small as he walked into the kitchen. He had noticed that the light was switched on, so it would seem logical that Shikamaru would be there. True enough, he saw a familiar figure sprawled over the table, a half-full glass of water in hand. _'Trust him to fall asleep like this…'_

"Hey Shika, get up," Neji gently shook the other teen awake, and was rewarded with a less-than-intelligent reply of "Mrrfggghhhhhh," and then, a bleary "Neji?"

"Yes, silly, who else would it be?" Neji's voice held the barest trace of humour, which quickly disappeared when he added, "did I wake you?"

"Yes, but don't worry about it right now." Shikamaru pulled Neji towards him and into an embrace. "So, are you going to tell me what's horrible enough to give you nightmares for three nights in a row?"

"No."

True to expectation, Neji was being difficult. _'Time to put the brain to work again…troublesome.' _Black eyes met white as Shikamaru quietly asked, "Is it your ANBU missions?" Neji had recently joined the elite corps, and had been on a few missions with his ANBU team. If the stories that Shikamaru had heard were anything to go by, new recruits were usually traumatized by some of their mission objectives. He highly doubted that Neji would fall into that category, but hey, who knew for sure?

"No, ANBU has nothing to do with it."

That was most certainly a relief. While Shikamaru loved his boyfriend and would stand by him no matter what, he much preferred spending time with a nice, sane Neji. Next guess, "Is it the main house?" Neji's relationship with the main house had improved, to the extent where Hiashi had had insisted upon meeting Shikamaru in an attempt at "bonding with his nephew's significant other". Surprisingly, the meeting had gone extremely well. Personally, Shikamaru thought that the older man was kind of nice, especially now that he was trying to mend the rift between the main and branch houses. He saw no reason for Neji to be upset with his uncle, unless those bothersome clan elders were somehow mixed up in this.

"No, nothing to do with the main house either."

"Well, what is it then? As far as I can see, only these two things have the potential to affect you that badly. Maybe I should ask Gai-sens…eh?" At the sound of his sensei's name, Neji had abruptly stiffened in Shikamaru's arms, and hid his face in Shikamaru's neck. _'Now we're getting somewhere…'_

"Neji, does Gai-sensei have something to do with your nightmares?" Shikamaru felt an almost imperceptible nod. "Want to tell me about it?"

"nuh! 's 'm'brass'g.[1]"

Shikamaru took a while to figure out what those muffled words meant. "Come on, didn't my mum show you all my baby photos? Even the naked ones? Nothing can be more embarrassing than that, right?" Small nod. "So, let's hear it. Why is Gai-sensei giving you nightmares?" A firm shake of the head resting against his neck told Shikamaru that he would have to resort to underhand means.

"Oh Neji…" That sing-song tone meant only one thing. Neji gulped as he felt the arms tightening around his waist. He tried to escape, but there was no breaking free from Shikamaru's clutches. "Last chance before you-know-what happens…" Shikamaru smirked to himself. He hated to take advantage of his boyfriend's one weakness like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Feeling Neji shake his head resolutely once more, his fingers moved to attack Neji's sides.

'_Won't…laugh. Can't…laugh. Mustn't…laugh.' _Neji continuously repeated these words in his mind, trying to control himself in spite of the relentless assault. It worked…for all of ten seconds before he gave in to loud peals of laughter. Damn Shikamaru for finding out that he was extremely ticklish! The ticking continued for another minute before an adorably flushed Neji weakly admitted defeat.

"All right, all right. I'll tell you about it. Just…just let me catch my breath."

Two minutes later, the redness had somewhat receded from Neji's face. "Promise you won't laugh?" Shikamaru nodded encouragingly. "Well, it starts off like this. Gai-sensei wants to give me a present," seeing Shikamaru's mouth opening to ask a question, Neji put a finger over it and quickly continued, "I don't know why. It's probably my birthday or something. But that's not important. Anyway, he asks me to close my eyes, and I do. Then…then…" Neji was obviously deeply affected by the upcoming scene. Feeling Shikamaru rubbing his back reassuringly, Neji took a steadying breath, and said, "Then, the next thing I know, I feel a sharp pull, hear a loud ripping noise, and Gai-sensei yells, **'BOWL-CUT OF YOUTH!!!'**…and that's when I wake up."

Throughout Neji's recounting of his nightmare, Shikamaru had remained impressively straight-faced. Thanks to living with Neji for the past year, he was able to school his emotions and make the appropriate shocked and sympathetic expressions at the right times. Sure, he was dying to find a secluded corner and laugh his heart out, but Neji didn't have to know that, did he? Still, he felt a light punch to his stomach, followed by Neji saying, "I **know** you're laughing on the inside. See? I told you it was embarrassing."

Pushing all thoughts of a short-haired Neji out of his mind (temporarily, at least), he hugged the real Neji before him and placed a brief kiss on the cursed seal. "Now, now…don't worry. I'll protect your lovely hair from all the troublesome bad Gais[2] out there." He felt Neji's lips curl into a smile against his neck. Running his fingers through the long brown hair, he continued, "How about we go back to bed? You have training first thing in the morning, and I have to teach." Neji nodded and both of them went back into their bedroom, falling asleep in each others' arms.

Needless to say, Neji never had that nightmare again.

-End-

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Bonus scene

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The next day, at the training grounds…

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"NEJI, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! I HAVE A SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU!"

Neji's eyes widened as he saw his sensei approaching swiftly, kunai in hand. Turning in the opposite direction, he ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.

Gai frowned to himself in bewilderment as he saw Neji's silhouette disappearing at top speed. The frown was quickly replaced by the trademark smile and Nice-Guy pose as he thought, _'Look at Neji running youthfully towards the setting sun! Maybe he already has one of these limited-edition titanium kunai. Oh well. One more for my other youthful student, Tenten. I wonder if Neji would like a jumpsuit instead?'_

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[1]: If you haven't figured out yet, Neji is saying, "No! It's embarrassing."

[2]: Yay bad pun! I've wanted to write "bad Gais" in a story for the longest time!

Notes: Wow…that was my first fanfiction in about 5 years, and my first-ever Naruto fanfiction! It took two weeks of this idea stewing in my head before I decided to write it. Yes, I know everyone is very OOC (except maybe Gai), but please consider it as artistic license. As mentioned in the disclaimer, main credits go to Masashi Kishimoto and Spader7. I only take credit for expanding the storyline (ie. Whatever's not in the picture). If this story goes down well, I may just write about some of the other ideas which are currently stuck in my head. =P

While I have tried my best to catch spelling mistakes and ensure that proper grammar is being used, I may have missed some little details. Please let me know if you spot anything which I didn't!

Please review! =) Constructive criticism is very much welcome and appreciated.


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